Payout package

Tax breaks in a time of crisis

Nov 14, 2001

The U.S. Post Office says it will need $2.5 billion for additional security in response to the biological war being waged against Americans through the mail system. The airlines have already received a $15 billion bailout in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Officals at the Centers for Disease Control are asking for “a few billion” to hire more staff and upgrade laboratories.

New York officials have said that it will take around $54 billion to help the city meet the economic challenges created by the World Trade Center disaster. Then there’s the cost of protecting food and water supplies, securing energy sources (including nuclear), increasing security in all transportation sectors, and on and on. Congress has already approved some $60 billion to meet these and many other requirements—such as a national supply of antibiotics—that have suddenly become essential. That figure will surely grow.